Experience the finest among North Carolina Vacation Rentals in Highlands NC at The Lakehouse on Lake Glenville in Cashiers

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From the comfort of our lakefront mountain retreat in Cashiers, North Carolina, explore America’s grandest home, the Biltmore Estate, during the holidays when rooms lit by fires create a warm glow accenting priceless treasures and special holiday decorations.

The serene lakeside setting of Lakeside Cottage near Highlands and Cashiers, North Carolina, presents a picture-perfect setting for enjoying a traditional, small town celebration. Main Street will be festooned with greenery, shop windows brightly decorated and the village green adorned with a majestic lighted tree.

There is something incredibly special about the holiday season that brings friends and families together like no other time of the year. This year, make your time together even more memorable by initiating a new ‘day after the feast’ family tradition – a family outing at one of the many Christmas Tree farms located in western North Carolina’s Jackson County to hand-select and harvest the perfect Live Christmas Tree. Two of our favorite tree farms, Ty-lyn Plantation Christmas Tree Farm and Tom Sawyer’s Christmas Tree Farm, offer rides on a vintage red fire truck or in a horse-drawn wagon, hot cider and chocolate, bonfires and even an elf village to engage young and old alike. Located on opposite sides of Lake Glenville, a short walk from the lake, both tree farms are an easy drive from our lakefront cabin. The Holiday season will be here before you know it – so start planning today!

On a crisp, fall evening in the heart of the Western North Carolina Mountains, one of our favorite places to dine is The Gamekeeper’s Tavern. The rustic mountain elegance and sophisticated casual style of the dining room, is enhanced by the warm glow from three large stone fireplaces and the cool musical notes of Bobby Sullivan at the piano. The menu, under the direction of Executive Chef Jonathan Reid, focuses on locally sourced, seasonal creations like the double-cut Cervenia Elk chop, sweet potato apple smash, and cherry demi pictured in this post. The Gamekeeper’s Tavern is open for dinner every night. Reservations are recommended. 828-743-GAME. 3646 Highway 64 East, Sapphire, NC. Drive time from our Cashiers vacation home, the Lakeside Cottage, is approximately 20-25 minutes.

Cashiers, North Carolina is America’s waterfall country. This gentle valley at 3,500 feet nestled in the southwest corner of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains is where you will find the natural beauty of nature and a dozen scenic waterfalls to visit.

A few miles just north of Cashiers is Lake Glenville and the American Continental Divide. Water from this elevation flows either southeast to the Atlantic Ocean or southwest to the Gulf of Mexico. Part of the water scene in the Cashiers area is the tallest waterfall in the eastern United States, Whitewater Falls, a short drive south of the village. Whitewater Falls has a drop of 411 feet which is 244 feet more than Niagra Falls and approximately equal to the drop at Victoria Falls in Africa. When you visit Cashiers, you will want to stay a while. For information about staying at Lakeside Cottage contact Helen Cook at 904-321-2210 or helen@lodgingresources.com.

Producers of more than 4,000,000 bushels of apples a year, North Carolina has rightfully earned the moniker of “apple state”. With so many u-pick-em orchards and festivals near Lakeside Cottage at the Point, it is hard not to get caught up in all the local excitement. An annual autumn tradition was born several years ago when some girlfriends and I decided to spend a bright Fall day exploring nearby Hendersonville. We stumbled upon the North Carolina Apple Festival. We indulged in all kinds of apple goodies – caramel apples, funnel cakes, slices of apple pie, apple crisp washed down with, what else but, apple cider! And each year as September slips by, I long to spend a day in a nearby orchard picking apples to make a favorite apple dessert or savory apple chutney. Hendersonville, North Carolina is 49 miles west of Cashiers, North Carolina on Highway 64.

The scenic mountain village of Cashiers, North Carolina sits at 3,500 feet in the southwest corner of the North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains. This is where you’ll find Lakeside Cottage at the Point. Here, you are truly away from it all – the city, the traffic, the noise. And yet, when you are at Lake Glenville and in Cashiers you will discover scenic vistas, colorful wildflowers, rippling waterfalls, beautiful golf courses, challenging hiking trails, mountain streams, eclectic shops, stunning sunsets and starry, starry night skies.

In Cashiers there are no man-made attractions – no no huge billboards – no shopping malls or big box stores – no rush hour traffic. The village is populated with eclectic and interesting one-of-a-kind shops and cafes. A local coffee shop, village flower vendor and open-air produce market occupy three corners of the town “square”. A Village Green is on the fourth corner of the square. This scenic park hosts special events and entertainments. Just beyond the Green is a children’s park, Village Play, that families love.

One of the many great adventures when you visit Jackson County (Cashiers-Lake Glenville) in the North Carolina Mountains is a wide range of Great Smoky Mountain fishing opportunities. From dropping a line ‘right off the dock’ at Lakeside Cottage to the numerous other lakes, rivers and streams in the area, angles find plenty to suit them here.

The Tuckasegee River is the largest body of water in Jackson County, and has been called “Western North Carolina’s best trout stream for fly anglers“. The North Carolina Mountains also offer scores of small streams that make for great mountain fishing locations. Fishing is also available in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, on the Cherokee Indian Reservation and on many North Carolina Mountain lakes in Jackson County including Lake Glenville – a 1,500 acre pure-water lake with 26 miles of shoreline habitat.

Fishermen visiting the Great Smoky Mountains have good success in their search for rainbow, brown and native brook trout, bass, bream, walley and crappie. Keep in mind that fishing regulations may apply and vare depending on where you choose to fish. Go to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission website for information about trout regulations, licensing information, Jackson County stream stocking information and directions to handicapped-accessible fishing spots.

Visit WNC Fly Fishing Trail for information about 15 prime spots to catch brook, brown and rainbow trout in Jackson County. Detailed trail maps are available free of charge on the site and at the Cashiers Chamber of Commerce and outfitters throughout Jackson County.

Fall has arrived at Lakeside Cottage in Western North Carolina’s High Country where autumn color isn’t limited to nature’s brilliant display of red, oranges and golds – you will also find it on your plate, in your glass and in the sights, sounds and smells of dozens of seasonal festivals, fairs and events. For reservations at the Cottage call 904-321-2210.

On crisp autumn afternoons at just around 5-o’clock, a small crowd begins to gather on the side of Highway 64 at the Jackson/Macon county line just west of Cashiers.

Tripods, supporting expensive cameras are anchored in place, hand-held digital cameras and camera phones are clutched expectantly – all waiting to capture on film one image: the legendary “Shadow of the Bear” – one of the most unique leaf-looking experiences in the country.

The half-hour show begins when a small dark spot appears at the bottom of the valley. As the crowd on the side of the road marvels, the shadow grows, seemingly evolving from a turtle to a cat to a long-eared dog and finally into The Bear,

A naturally occurring phenomenon that is visible for just a few weeks in the fall and spring, the bear-like shadow makes its appearance on sunny days between 5:30 and 6:00 pm from mid-October through early November as the sun sets behind Whiteside Mountain.

Whiteside Mountain, with an elevation of 4,930 feet, boasts sheer rock cliffs that are among the highest in the eastern United States. It provides a spectacular setting for viewing leaves throughout the autumn, especially during the emergence of the Bear. Adventurous visitors may choose to hike Whiteside (2 miles, strenuous).

The best viewing spot for observing The Bear is right off of Highwy 64 in a place called “Rhodes Big View Overlook”. If yiou are coming from the Lakeside Cottage, the spot is on your left 4.3 miles west (toward Highlands) of the traffic light at the crossroads in Cashiers.